This invention concerns thermal therapy for treatment of injuries to the shoulder, and particularly a shoulder strap holding heat or cold packs and effective to apply compression to areas of the shoulder as needed, while also being lightweight, pliable and flexible to allow for movement as needed.
A basic understanding of the anatomy and kinesiology of the shoulder complex is useful in understanding the design and application of the shoulder wrap of the invention. See, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,591,703 and 6,398,746, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference.
It is known that cooling and heating are useful therapeutic treatments for soft tissue trauma; normally cooling is applied immediately following an injury, and heating is often applied as subsequent therapy for healing the injury. The application of these thermal treatments along with compressive support of the shoulder joint, while allowing substantially full movement, are objectives of the present invention.
Thermal treatment of the shoulder is focused on treatment of the soft tissue associated with the joint, including the rotator cuff and the bursa.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,743,867, commonly owned with this application, discloses a therapeutic wrapping for a joint, particularly the ankle. This wrapping includes a system for retaining thermal treatment pads on the interior of the wrap to provide thermal treatment and joint support. To accommodate its intended purpose as an ankle wrapping, the structure includes an opening to accommodate the protruding calcaneus or heel bone. This wrap is specifically suited for treating the ankle and not the shoulder because the differing joint structures require treatment at different positions. With the ankle, considerable restraint of movement is acceptable and even desirable, while with the shoulder it is preferred to maintain as much as possible of normal range of motion during treatment.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,945,988 describes a shoulder joint cooling device that includes a collection of cooling pads to be draped over the shoulder and held in place by gravity, a neck strap and an upper arm segment that wraps around the user's upper arm. The device does not provide cooling of the entire shoulder, and specifically lacks cooling in the important rotator cuff area that is commonly subject to trauma. This device does not provide compressive support, and heat trauma is not envisaged.
U.S. design Pat. No. 473,656 discloses a shoulder wrap for applying cooling and compression. While this wrap apparently extends over the entire shoulder, it is not clear from the disclosure where on the shoulder or how the cooling is applied, although there appears to be a hose attached to the wrap. Likewise, it is not apparent from this document how or where this wrap applies compression. There are two straps, a broad strap which appears to be a torso encircling strap, and a narrower strap that appears to be a sling for supporting the lower arm. This interpretation is consistent with information given on the assignee's web site; see intl.gameready.com/products/shoulder.htm. There appears to be no consideration given to freedom of shoulder movement during treatment. On the contrary, the use of a sling implies a desire to immobilize the shoulder. Heat treatment is apparently not considered.
U.S. design Pat. 527,108 and 532,523 disclose thermal therapy pads which are elaborate, complex devices apparently connected in use to an external source of circulating heat transfer fluid. The pad of No. 532,523 includes an integral arm sling. Neither of these pads apparently provides compressive support. The device of No. 532,523 is evidently intended to immobilize the shoulder when in use.